


Posturing

by Iamablobfish



Series: Barisi musings [3]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: M/M, Sonny being a babbly boy, Sonny's a bit of a top in this and I'll never admit it, kissing in an elevator, rafael being sweet and nervous, they're both anxious a little and it's okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 19:25:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15713550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamablobfish/pseuds/Iamablobfish
Summary: Sonny seemed like he wanted to keep talking, but he interrupted himself by leaning in and kissing Rafael again, more fervently this time, focusing intently on the kiss instead of being inside of his own head like the last time.





	Posturing

The more Sonny thought about him, the more enthralled he seemed to be. Barba was just so good at his job. Sure, he was an arrogant asshole who's opinion of himself put Narcissus to shame. But Rafael Barba had a hell of a lot of reason to be confident. And Sonny had to admit that he'd do anything the man asked. He'd even quit his job and become his live-in maid if Barba even so much as looked him square in the eyes and said please. 

Which is part of the reason why it was weird to see him as anything other than cool and collected. In fact, he'd been shifting anxiously in front of Sonny's desk for at least a minute before Sonny noticed him and chanced to look up. It was good to see him, even if he looked like he was being forced off a cliff at gunpoint. 

"Counselor, you're not goin home or nothin'?" He asked, getting the other man's attention, and Barba almost instantly seemed to relax. Although he still looked tense, his deep-seated anxiety had been replaced with a confident smirk. Sonny thought that maybe he was posturing for some reason, purposefully putting up a facade to keep himself hidden. He'd mentioned it before to Rollins, but she only scoffed. Made a comment about how the stick up his butt probably just got a little bit loose for a minute, which caused Sonny to make an attempt at a defense. Which turned into him unable to form a coherent sentence because the effort to make this all look like simple admiration was too much.

"Detective. I was wondering if you'd walk me out, actually." He said, turning away from the desk, an impatient clip to his voice. As if Sonny wouldn't say no, as if he had already agreed and was being slower than he'd promised. 

"Oh, yeah, yeah, of course, Counselor. Just gimme a second, I was planning on heading out in a couple minutes anyways. My heads killin' me, you have no idea. I took about ten Advil today tryin' to feel better, nothin's workin." He kept up an almost subconscious monologue as he logged out of his computer and grabbed his coat off the back of the chair. He didn't stop until they reached the elevator, finally taking a moment to breathe. 

It was quiet for a minute, and Sonny wracked his brain for something to say next. He couldn't stand the quiet, and unless asked a question or looking to chew your ear off for something you did wrong, Barba didn't speak unless spoken to. Sonny opened his mouth to say something but was cut off unexpectedly. 

"A minute of silence, Detective. Please." He said, pinching the bridge of his nose, and Carisi closed his mouth audibly. His eyes were a little wide, having to hold his breath and puff his cheeks out slightly to keep him from talking. He was certainly childish in this respect, but Barba wasn’t watching him and it honestly was the only thing he could do to keep his mouth shut. He wasn't entirely certain how long he would last, however, the imaginary tension seeming to build between them with every passing second.

"I'm sorry, Counselor, I just can't stand it when it's quiet, I gotta tell ya. Back home there was never a quiet second, ever. Only when somethin bad was gonna happen. And I don't think you're gonna hurt me or nothin', so I figure there's gotta be _some_ type of conversation," He stopped for a minute, feeling a hand on his arm. He looked down at it, watching it give him a little shove into the elevator, not removing itself. He continued rambling, the only addition being a slightly confused tone in his voice. “Besides, I figure if you wanted to walk me out there’s gotta be something you need to say, so you might as well…” He stopped paying attention to his own words, feeling how annoying he was and being unable to stop.

The doors closed, he heard them, and when he looked up at the man holding his arm he only got a millisecond before their lips were pressed together. It was weird at first, but not bad. He wasn't expecting it, and now he was standing there looking like an idiot while Barba kissed him and-

Barba pulled away, tearing Sonny from his thoughts, a confused and subtly hurt look in his eye. Funny, the most honest Carisi had seen him and he wasn’t even saying anything. After another second Rafael pulled away entirely, cheeks heating up, pulling his phone out of his pocket so that way he wouldn't have to look at Sonny. Sonny, who was standing there dumbstruck and still trying to understand what had happened. 

"I'm sorry, Carisi, that was unprofessional of me." He spoke quickly, with Sonny still standing there not moving. "I shouldn't have done that, I misread the situation, and-" He was interrupted by Sonny's hand on his shoulder, by the other man stepping into his personal space and sliding a hand over his cheek to cup his face gently, maneuvering his chin into the air a little bit so he could look at him.

"Ya just caught me off guard, Counselor." He said, grinning down at him, a small hint of wickedness there as he ran a thumb over Barba’s reddened cheek. Barba might have thought, at first, that he was smug. But upon closer inspection, he would realize that Carisi was just genuinely happy about what had happened between them. "Ya gotta give a guy a warning before you start grabbin at 'em." Sonny seemed like he wanted to keep talking, but he interrupted himself by leaning in and kissing Rafael again, more fervently this time, focusing intently on the kiss instead of being inside of his own head like the last time.

They broke apart after a minute, breathing heavily, finding themselves wrapped around each other. Carisi looked at Raf in amazement, and Rafael looked smug. It was a good look on him. 

"Smug isn't a good look on you." Sonny lied as Raf stepped out of his grip, straightening both of their clothes and withdrawing from him just as the elevator doors opened. It was sweet of Rafael to reach out and straighten his tie and his jacket, even reaching all the way up to fix his hair. 

"Detective-" He said, clearing his throat and stepping out of the elevator, leaving Sonny to trail behind him like a lost puppy. The familiarity was gone, but not his warmth altogether. "Are you- if you can be quiet and refrain from monologuing all night…” He said, giving him a pointed look. “...you're welcome to come to my home. For dinner." He said, and it was only because Sonny knew him well that he noticed the slight hesitation. The fear that maybe, for some reason, Sonny would say no. Despite even their moment in the elevator.

"Ah, well, with food in front of me, I'll have plenty to occupy my mouth with. Maybe you can whip up something to cure my headache too." He said, a teasing lilt to his voice, and Rafael snorted. 

"I'm sure we can do both of those things." He responded, gaze flitting down to Carisi's mouth and rolling his eyes in an attempt to seem blasé. He started walking away from Sonny, once again making him jog a little to catch up, reaching out to put a hand on his arm as he pulled up next to him.


End file.
